David Rohde, a New York Times reporter who was kidnapped while reporting in Afghanistan, came to talk to students in the Upper and Middle Schools on Friday 5/20.
Q: What inspired you to keep going while you were imprisoned?
A: My family. I knew that they would do everything they could to help me. My five aunts and uncles who went to this school did everything they could to help me while I was imprisoned in Bosnia, so I knew that they would do everything they could to help me while I was imprisoned in Afghanistan.
Q: Were you surprised that Osama Bin Laden was found in Pakistan, and what kind of help do you believe he received?
A: I was surprised that he was found so close to the capital. I think he definitely received help from either current or retired Pakistani officials. I don’t think there’s any way he could have been so close to the capital without someone helping him.
Q: What are your views on women’s rights in the Middle East and Southeast Asia?
A: Most of my friends are moderate Muslims, and they are very eager to have women in schools and have women study, and they point out the passages in the Quran, the Prophet’s daughter was educated as well, and I think we should let Muslims solve this dispute inside Islam on their own and back moderate Muslims. I think that they represent most Muslims. We should back Muslim moderates who have a more liberal interpretation of the faith, but we should respect them because it’s their religion and their countries and let the Muslim moderates do the pushing. It doesn’t help when we lecture other countries, it’s better to step back and be respectful.
Q: How do you think your kidnapping changed you, your outlook on the world, and your outlook on the Middle East and Southeast Asia?
A: It made me relish the small things in life, having coffee with my wife in the morning, seeing my family on holidays; it just really made me relish being home. In terms of the region, it made me believe even more that moderate Muslims are the majority, that moderate Muslims helped me escape, and it made me believe even more that we need to help moderate Muslims defeat extremists.
Q: What was the most frightening moment for you during your kidnapping?
A: The first moment of the kidnapping and thinking everything’s gone wrong and worrying what my family would go through. That was the worst moment.
Q: What do you think the ultimate outcome of the “Arab spring” will be?
A: I believe it will lead to democracy in the region. I believe there’s a new generation of young Muslims who want change, who want accountability and I think it’s very exciting and very positive. The biggest message I would have is that we have to trust Arab moderates and we have to help them when they push for democracy and they push for women’s rights. Supporting dictators will not work in the long run. We have to support the new generation.
Q: Do you think that democracy will ever become prevalent in the Middle East and Southeast Asia?
A: Democracy already is prevalent in South Asia, in India, and I do think it will emerge. We need to be patient. There needs to be enough education and a strong economy and strong court systems and strong free press [in a country]. When you have those four things together it will work. It’s working in Turkey and Indonesia. Turkey and Indonesia are examples of Arab countries where democracy is working already.
Q: What do you think the greatest misperception is that people in America have about the Middle East and what do you think the greatest misperception is in the Middle East that people have about America?
A: I think people in the Middle East think that Americans are just greedy and selfish, and we have no values and no decency. I think that the greatest American misperception is that all Muslims are crazy fundamentalists and they’re not. They want good schools for their kids, good jobs to support their families, and governments that support their families instead of praying.
Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring journalists?
A: Don’t take my story the wrong way. There are many peaceful things to cover in journalism that aren’t dangerous. I think it’s a very exciting time in journalism to work with iPads and Kindles and the Internet. You are the generation that will revitalize and reinvent journalism. It’s a great opportunity.
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